GGR growth slows in Macau

For the second consecutive month gross gaming revenue growth slowed down in Macau.

Macau.- As analysts said, casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau slowed down its growth when compared to last year numbers and is likely to keep slowing down for a second consecutive month once the September results are out.

GGR is estimated to increase between 14 to 18 percent year-on-year. The same revenue in July totaled 29.2 percent year-on-year, as the official local casino regulator Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau revealed, and marked the highest annual rate of 2017. Moreover, August GGR stood at 20.4 percent, almost ten percent less than the previous month, but mainly caused by the Typhoon Hato that hit Macau.

Japanese brokerage Nomura said in a note on Monday: “We expect slower year-on-year growth in September versus +20 percent in August, given tougher year-on-year comparisons with the opening of Wynn Palace on August 22 last year,” cited GGRAsia. “Assuming sequential growth for the rest of the month in line with the trailing five-year average for September…, we estimate year-on-year growth will be around 15 percent,” the brokerage added.

Moreover, Sanford Bernstein estimated that Macau’s September GGR will be approximately US$2.6 billion, 14 or 15 percent up from 2016. “Our channel checks indicate that Macau’s GGR month-to-date (September 1-24) was around MOP17 billion, an average daily rate of MOP708 million,” said Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Cathy Huang.